Smokey Bear
Smokey Bear is an advertising mascot created by Harold Rosenberg in 1944 for the Ad Council and the United States Forest Service, whose role is to educate the public about the dangers of wildfires. He is recognized by the vast majority of Americans for his trademark slogan, "Remember... only you can prevent wildfires." History with the Macy's Parade Smokey Bear v.1 (1966) Concepts of a Smokey Bear balloon have dated back as early as 1962. Goodyear rejected the idea, though the reasoning behind this is unknown. After being put on the back burner for over three years, he would finally take shape as a balloon in the Parade. The Smokey Bear balloon first appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1966, making his debut alongside with a 2nd version of the Superman balloon. The 58-foot tall balloon was sponsored by the General Electric Company which gave publicity to a network television animated special, "The Ballad of Smokey Bear", which aired later that evening. The balloon became an instant Parade mainstay, as made 16 consecutive appearances before his brief retirement in 1981. 12 years later, he would come out of hibernation to celebrate his 50th birthday in 1993. This version of Smokey was permanently retired that same year, and hasn't appeared in the Parade since. The balloon later appeared at the 1995 edition of Macy's Balloon-A-Thon, marking this as the original Smokey balloon's last public appearance. Smokey was carried by New Milford Fire Company #2 from 1966 to 1979. The Fire Company, from New Milford, NJ, returned as an escort to Smokey lead by the Fire Department Color Guard in 1980, Macy's employees carried the Bear in 1980-81 and 1993. The original Smokey Bear balloon still exists in the float warehouse, and is one of the oldest surviving balloons, with only the brim of his hat missing. Smokey Bear v.2 (2019) After an absence that lasted over 25 years, Smokey made his grand return in the 2019 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, this time as a brand-new heritage balloon to celebrate his 75th birthday. This balloon is almost identical to the original Smokey Bear balloon, but with a more modern design technique, and is smaller in size, measuring 51 feet tall, 16 feet long, and 25 feet wide. Additionally, with the return of the new Smokey Bear, 20 members of the New Milford Fire Department were members of Smokey's Balloon Crew, carrying him down to Herald Square. As a Walkaround While the Smokey Bear balloon was absent at the time, he appeared as a walkaround alongside Woodsy Owl, Thermy, BAC and Power Panther (All USDA characters) in 2000. He later reappeared in a costumed-character version on two special anniversary floats, along with hordes of children's characters represented by past parade balloons: the Toon Balloon-Abration float in 2001, and the Hats Off To Our Heritage float in 2011. Incidents * In 1971, Smokey was going to be one of the only three balloons to still be able to fly despite extreme weather, but high winds caused Astronaut Snoopy and Happy Dragon to escape from their netting, tearing his hat open in the process, and were taken out of the lineup as a result. While Smokey did survive the night, he was still removed due to safety reasons, and therefore there could not be any balloons at all that year. * In 1975, Smokey's right hand was punctured by a tree at Columbus Circle. As a result, the hand became deflated. Defects * In 1974, 1980, and 1981, the blade of Smokey's shovel was bent. * In 1981, Smokey's head was bent, so he appeared to be looking down during his appearance at Herald Square. Music Below, you will find a list of the music that played during the balloon's appearance on the NBC telecast * The Ballad of Smokey Bear Theme Song (1966) * The Bear Comes Over The Mountain (Milton DeLugg Version) (1967-1981; 1993) Gallery Gallery: Smokey Bear Category:Macy's Balloon Characters Category:Commercial Characters Category:1966 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:Comeback Balloon in the Parade Category:Male Balloons Category:Balloons used outside of the parade Category:Balloons that were in an accident Category:2019 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:Goodyear Balloons Category:Raven Aerostar Balloons Category:1960s Balloons Category:2010s Balloons Category:Big Balloons Category:Balloons that got removed from the parade Category:Heritage Balloons Category:Current Balloons